


Drabble #2 - Words

by DarthAstris



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: :P, Canon Compliant, Dark Side Leia AU, M/M, Returns-verse, get this away from me, see? i can be nice!, so soft it hurts, works for both
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 00:51:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8124244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthAstris/pseuds/DarthAstris
Summary: Hux has a nightmare and Ben doesn't know what to do.  But he knows exactly what to do.





	

Hux shivered and whimpered in his sleep. 

Another nightmare.

Ben had tried to chase them away with his presence, or, when that failed, with the Force.  But they had returned with a frequency that neither could quell.

He lay there, chewing his lip and frowning at the thin slip of Hux’s back that was revealed by the fall of the covers.  Ragged, white stripes, paler than the skin around them, crisscrossed his back in a sadistic pattern.  The scars were thick, knotted calluses in places.  Private humiliations imprinted into his flesh for all to see.  They had not been healed with care as Ben’s childhood traumas had.  Were they the cause of tonight’s distress?

Compelled to touch them, to remind himself that Armitage was solid and real, that he was here, that he had survived these assaults on his dignity, Ben’s hand crept forward.

The mattress shook as Hux jerked awake with a gasp.

Ben pulled his hand away and lay still.  Should he pretend to be asleep?  The tremors in the bed intensified as Hux curled in on himself, shaking with quiet sobs.  He was trying not to wake Ben.  This was something he did not wish to share.

Ben hadn’t touched Hux but now he wanted to even more.  His heart ached to reach out and comfort the man he loved, but the possibility that his touch would cause Armitage even more distress and embarrassment stayed his hand.  Ben could skim Hux’s thoughts without hurting him or even letting his presence be known, but Hux’s fears and sorrows were his own.  That understanding and acceptance had not come easily for Ben.  Accustomed to taking what he wanted from people, learning to love another had been a difficult process.   

He decided not to close his eyes as Hux shifted and turned over to face him.  There was no need to lie.

When their eyes met, Hux’s brow pinched with shame. His lips trembled as he opened his mouth to make some excuse or scathing comment to cover for his insecurity, but Ben laid his palm on Hux’s cheek and traced the pad of his thumb over the soft bow of his lips.  Ben shook his head.  Hux didn’t need to explain or hide himself here.

The redness around Hux’s eyes brought out the icy jade of his irises.  There, Ben saw the desire for comfort wrestling with a stubborn pride that would never permit Hux to ask. 

With the barest whisper of touch, Ben trailed his fingers up to Hux’s forehead and through the tangle of fire that crowned his head.  He smoothed the sunset strands back into place without breaking eye contact. 

Hux took a deep, shuddering breath, surrendering to Ben’s ministrations with unspoken relief.  He closed his eyes as Ben leaned in to place his forehead against his.  A residual tear rolled over the bridge of his nose and dropped onto the pillow.  He sniffled and sighed, reluctantly releasing the tension in his shoulders.

Ben stayed with him like that for so long that Hux would have thought he’d fallen asleep but for his fingers continuing to stroke the short hairs at the nape of his neck. Softly, persistently, as though he could pull the horrible visions out of Hux's head with his gentle caresses. Feeling the rhythmic puffs of Ben’s calm breaths, Hux’s frantic heartbeat slowed.  Snippets of the nightmare flickered in his mind, so he opened his eyes to reassure himself he was here and now, safe in the arms of someone who loved him and would never hurt him.  Ben’s face was too close to focus on, but that didn’t matter.  He was here, and Hux was here, and they didn’t need the frailty of words to understand one another.


End file.
